Crinkling paper



Sept. 20,1927.

E. H. ANGIER CRINKLING PAPER Filed July 16. 192:"v

Patented sept. 20,1927.4

' -UNITED STATES L i Eravamo H. Anania, or raAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS. u

` GRmKLINGPAPER.

i Application :usd July 1e, 1925.v serial No.1 44,004. 1

, This invention comprises a novel method of crinkling paper and apparatus for practicing the same and also, a technically new 'product the making of which is made possible thereby. Such product comprises paper in webs of indefinite lengths, such` as the lusual mill rolls ofpaper, having a great lamount of expansibility inthe transverse direction, for instance, through lcrinklings extending longitudinally .of the web or parallelto the grain of thepaper.

My invention-will be best' understood by reference tothe following description taken` in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein is shown in a partly diagrammatic manner suitable apparatusY for practicing the'method which is the subject of the invention and for producing the novel product. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing a principal portion of thefapparatusin longitudinal Section; c

Fig, 2 is a Section on the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 isa plan of the principal portion of the apparatus with parts successively broken ,may

My invention will be readily understood by adescription of the particular apparatus chosen for illustration by way of example in these drawings and of the method of its operation although it will be understood that the invention is by no means limited to thel construction or arrangement of parts-shown. Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the `paper p to be crinkled may be in the form of a web drawn from the mill roll 5. The paper may be either craped dry or suitably prepared by moistening and I have herein shown it as led through a suitable moisteningIr or saturating tank 7 before proceeding to the crinkling apparatus proper. Where considerable resiliency is desired in the iinished product I prefetto moisten the paper or to operate on moist partlyl finished paper stock. Suitable re-winding means, indicated diagrammatically at 8. may be utilized fori rolling up the paper web after it is crinkled;

In the form of the 4invention shown the.

paperweb p is deposited upon a suitable yielding body and shortening of this body is then'efiected so as to effect aconcomitant shortening or compression of the paper web, herein a transverse compression, which causes it to occupy va smaller area and thus PAT-ENT oFFlcE.

brings into a crinkled or craied form, suitable provision being made or preventing the paper from merely folding or buckling into relatively large pleats or folds and in-y suringthat the compression thereof .shall effect a more or less irregular and iine crinkllng as distmguished from relatively large .and regular foldings or`corrugations. The

operation is preferably so conducted that, while the product is iuted or corrugated, be-

cause of the multiplicity and fineness o f the iutings it-may be handled practically as a .fiat and uniform web.` Although made in paper which is4 limber or liaccid, as contrasted, for example, with straw-board -or the like, the iiutings will be self-maintaining and permanent againstthe'strains of ordinary handling, but they provide fora Wide range of expansibility in the paper to fit it. for various practical uses. y'

Referring to the apparatus herein illustrated, the paper p is deposited upon one of the runs or leads of a belt 9 which may be supported from beneath bythe support .11 and the paper may be confined thereagainst by the opposed run of a similar belt13, this or other elastic material and as best indicated in Fig. 3 the edges thereof are guided in converging lines so that at the intake end of the belts` the upper end viewing Fig. 3, the body of the belt is relatively extended but it is permitted elastically to contract and gradually shorten in transverse dimensionv as it approaches the opposite end of its run. This'mav be effected in any convenient manner but I have herein, (seeFig. 2) shownA the belts as provided with enlarged inextensible edge or bead portions 21 which engage the edges of the supports 11 and 15 and the ends of the belt-carrying rolls. .The rolls at the intake end of the machine are wider than the rollsat the opposite end and the supports 11 and 15 taper, as indicated in Fig. 3. The belts are thus held extended at the ini run being likewise held against deflection by V take end of the machine and permitted gradually to collapse or contract in their forward travel.

The paper web p enters between the stretched out portions of the belts and is lirmly held throughout its width therebetween and frictionally gripped by the rubber. As the belts contract the aper tends to be shortened with them and 1s compressed laterally. Since the rubber frictionally grips the paper throughout its width, this compressing action is not a mere pressing together of the two edges of the paper but a uniform act-ion exerted throughout its width tending to density the same. By this compressive action the paper is forced into a multiplicity of fine irregular folds or crinklings. It will be noted that the paper is held against substantial deflection from a plane.- It is, of course, clear that in being crinkled it departs from a plane in the geometrical sense but it is nowhere free to move any considerable distance, nor is there any path of least resistance defining a location where it could most readily break away from the surface of the belt against which itis pressed. The paper is thus forced by the compression, particularly when the compression `is uniformly applied throughout its width in the mannerdescribed, to crumple uniformly into small crinkles and it is n0- where free to lift away from the surface of one of the belts in a large fold.

It will be apparent that the amount of crinkling to produce a finished product with the desired percent-age of stretch may be regulated by varying the extent and rapldity` of the narrowing to which the belt or equivalent member is subjected. For certain uses a paper having 'an expansibility of twenty to thirty percent is desirable and such a degree of expansibility may be provided for by the means described. Hitherto an unbroken web of paper in effect flat and uniform and patent to Otaka Fabric Company 150,448,-

has been practiced chiefly for its ornamental etl'ect and has provided only a slight degree of transverse expansibility.

In the example of the invention ch'osen for purposes of illustration the process is a' continuous one which gradually transversely compresses the paper into crinklings concurrently with the advance of the paper through'the mechanism and may be practiced as indicated on -a long paper web of indefinite length such as the ordinary mill roll of paper. The production of stretchable paper hitherto has been effected by a craping process which, when applied to long webs of paper, has been capable only of producing crapings extending in a generally transverse direction across the width of the web, the paper being crowded back on itself or shortened in the direction of the length of the web. Herein, 'on the contrary, as illustrated at the bottom of Fig. 3, the crinklings extend substantially longitudinally of the web of paper. In the prior processes if the direction of the crapings were considered the longitudinal direction of the paper, the length of the pieces of paper which could thus be produced was limited to the width of the original roll of paper as produced by the paper making machine, that is, a matter of a few feet instead of a matter of a great many yards as in the present case.

Furthermore, in the production of paper the fibers felt together and extend in a direction generally parallel to the passage of the paper through the paper making machine so that al web of paper has a grain extending 4 longitudinally and a sheet of paper is strongw er lengthwise of this grain than it is transversely thereof. In the example shown the crinklings of the paper extend parallel to the grain and thus the expansibility of the paper due thereto is transverse to the grain and the resistance to bursting provided by the yielding resistance of these crinklings is utilized to supplement the strength of the.

paper in its weaker direction.

By way of illustration and without attempting a full enumerationI will refer briefly to some of the advantageous uses of longitudinally crinkled paper. is particularly desirable for use in making Such paper i bags and such bags may be constructed from a continuous web of paper on present types of bag making machines and will have the crinklings extending from the top to the bottom of the bag instead of circumferentially thereof. Particularly when .the Vcrinklings are as'herein described parallel to the grain of the paper, this is most desirable as the' full strength of the paper will be available between'the bottom and the neck of the bag to support the weight thereof while the bag will be'expansible to permit bulging ofthe same.

' Another extensive use for crinkled paper is the production of liners for barrels as, for

example, is illustrated in Patent No. 764,545,

July 12, 1904, to Arkell. Paper longitudinally craped may be folded and seamed lengthwise into a continuous tube in a very simple manner and the tubes may be cut oil at any length desired to provide barrel liners with the crinklin gs running vertically of the barllu rely so that they may expand to fit the bilge. i Furthermore, if the grainA of the paper is likewise longitudinal, the full strength is Y available when one end of theliner is turned down over the chine of the barrel as illustratedin that patent, resisting the tendency of the paper to tear at the chine while the crinklings permit the circumferential expansion facilitating this turning over of the end of the liner. Y'

' I have described in detail the particular mechanism. herein illustrated as an example of a suitable means of carrying out my invention.v It will be understood that the disclosure is diagrammatic and thatthe apparatus'used might widely differ in construction and arrangement and without departing from' the essential principles underlying my invention. What I claim as new and desire to secure by'Letters Patent I shall express in the following claims. By the lword plane in these claims, asin the phrase against substantial deflection from .a plane I refer to the surface in which the part of the paper. under consideration lies andj which maybe considered as defined by the paper because of the extended, sheet-like character of the latter. If the paper lies fiat, this approximates a geometrical plane, but obviously the process is not essentially altered if the surface is' more or less curved.

Claims:

1. An unbroken aper web of indefinite length having crinlings extending longitudinally thereof andproviding for elastic expansibility of the web transversely thereof.

2. An unbroken paper web of indefinite i length having its grain extending longitudinally thereof and having crinklings extending substantially parallel to the grain and providing for elastic expansibility of the web transverselythereof. y y y 3. An unbroken web of paper of indefinite length transversely compacted in a multi- 'plicity of fine flutings extending lengthwise of the web, which liutings are self-maintaining and provide a web in effect uniform and flat, said web being transversely expansible by an eighth of its width or more.

` 4.' An unbroken web of paper of indefinite length having its grain extending longitudinally thereof and gathered in a multiplicity 4of fine iutings extending generally parallel to the grain, which flutings are self-maintaining and provide a web in effect uniform v and fiat, said A web being transversely expansible by an eighth of its width or'mre.

5. Anv unbroken web of flaccid paper of indefinite length compacted by` a' multiplicity of. fine flutings to provide aV web in effect uniform and flat and expansible transversely through extension of lsaid fiutings by. an eighth of its width or more.

6. A method of crinkling paper which comprises holding the paperagainst an extended surface and to contract.

7. A method of crinkling `paper which comprises holding the paper confined substantially in a plane between extended elements and permit-ting the elements to contract in said plane. i

8. 'A method of crink'ling papenwhich 'Y comprises leading the paper over amoving lengthv of material which is gradually'shortening laterally and confining the paper thereto from.

9.- A method of comprises leading the paper between moving lengths of material which are gradually shortening laterally vand which confine the paper closely therebetween.' 10.. A method of crinkling paper which comprises confining the paper closely to the surface of'a body and effecting substantially uniform shortening of said body. 11. A method of crinkling paper which comprises confining the paper closely between opposed bodies and effecting substantially uniform shorteninr of said bodies.

12. A method of crinrling paper which comprises advancing the'paper closely confined against a yielding body and effecting gradual transverse shortening of the body v concurrently with the advance of the paper.

permitting `the surface against substantial deflection therev crinklingpaper which l sie 14. A method of crinkling .a paper web characterized by v"subjecting the web simultaneously throughout its width tov transverse compressive forces while holding it against substantial deflection from a plane.

15.1A method of c'rinkling a paper web which comprises advancing the paper longitudinally and progressively subjecting it ina portion ofV its path to transverse compression exerted thereon throughout its width while holding -it against substantial deflection from a plane.

16. A method'of crinkling paper which comprises eecting a substantially uniform frictional adherence v'of the paper to a support., maintaining the paper thereagainst against substantial deflection from a plane j and causingthe support and paper to occupy a smaller area by a substantially uniform collapse of the support.

17. Avmethod of crinkling a long paper web which comprises subjecting the extended .paper to a friction tending to transversely compress it while maintaining it against substantial deflection froma plane. A

18. Crinkling mechanism comprising a yielding body, means to confinepaper closely thereagainst and means to effect substantia'lly uniform shortening and extension of said body.

19. Crinklin mechanism comprising means for gui ing a paper web, a ylelding body over which the paper passes, means to confine the paper thereto, means for advancinrr the paper and means to effect a gradua transverse shortening of the body concurrent with the advance of the paper. 420. Grinkling mechanism comprising means for guiding a paper web, an element over which the web leads, means to confine the paper to asurface thereof and against substantial deflection from a plane and means for effecting alternate expansion and contraction of said element.

21. Crinkling mechanism comprising an' ing and'shortening the same and means to y 11o d paper thereto to partake of the shortening movement without substantial deiec tion from a plane. l

23. Crinkling mechanism comprising a pair of transversely elastic belts having 0p-y posed runs adapted to confine paper there between, means for maintaining .the edges of said runs in converging lines and means for driving the belts.

24. Crinkling. mechanism comprising a' pair of belts having opposed runs to receive paper therebetween, said belts having elastic odies, guides disposed in 'converging lines .adjacent said runs and cooperating with the EDWARD H. ANGIER. 

